“This is America” video
Gabe McCoy
Childish Gambino’s “This is America”
The “This is America” music video was released on May 5, 2018 by Donald Glover, who is otherwise known as the rapper Childish Gambino. The song features multiple forms of symbolism in the form of dance moves, Jim Crow poses, and a brutal showcase of gun violence. The dancing children and flashy moves are meant to ‘distract’ viewers from all that is going on around Childish Gambino as he moves from scene to scene. This amalgamation of scenery represents America using pop culture and black stardom as a means of distracting citizens from the broken system we exist in. The video, now nearly a year old, has been met with both critical praise and jarring backlash.
Much of the praise for Childish Gambino’s phenomenal video stems from its ability to put pressing issues in modern America at the forefront with no consideration for the comfort of a general audience. Certain aspects of the four-minute video are meant to be outright shocking or confusing. The church choir segment, for example, shows Gambino mercilessly gunning down a choir that is providing background vocals to his music. This grotesque vision represents the Charleston and Sutherland Springs shootings that happened a few short years before this video’s production. In Charleston, nine African American were shot and killed by white supremacist Dylann Roof. Gambino finishes this scene by walking off unharmed and unpunished. His lack of empathy for his actions sends a powerful message to viewers as they see how violence against the black population is left ignored and eventually ditched for other ‘pressing’ issues. Americans seem to be desensitized to these shootings in one way or another, usually due to the fact that they are incredibly common in the news in America. According to Vox, there have been over 2,000 mass shootings since December 14, 2012, the day the Sandy Hook shooting, where 26 adults and children were killed by a gunman at Sandy Hook Elementary School. Even if there is a vocal push for change, seeing shootings happen has found its place in the culture. However, Gambino using this shock-value pushed people to further realize how problematic the fetishizing of gun-culture really is. He takes a more subtle approach to this later in the song as well. There is a 17-second pause from the singing, a show of possible respect to the 17 lives lost in the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in Parkland, Florida. Slamming doors and screaming children can faintly be heard in the background before Gambino proceeds to walk away and continue the music. The fast pace does not allow us to mourn for long, just as America’s grating lifestyle does not let citizens stop to try and solve problems at hand.
Further praise was given to Glover for his posturing and recreation of Jim Crow era minstrel dancing, as well as the general symbolism of the video as a whole. His facial movements and strange poses were reminiscent of Thomas Rice, who is said to be the original Jim Crow. In a Huffington Post interview, Jim Crow historian David Pilgrim stated, “…from the minstrel period to the present, both the people being hurt and the people doing the hurting have often ignored the hurt by dancing.” There is an interesting dynamic to these moves in the context of the video, because many viewers likely will not pick up on the symbolism upon their first time watching. This piece of information, mixed with a slew of other symbolic moments, is a representation of America’s past and even somewhat present situation. Minstrelsy often goes forgotten when discussing ways black people have been undermined in U.S. history; in reality, it has brought about a number of stereotypes that are still held by some today. These gestures that were seen as ‘silly’ and ‘harmless’ were a way of making white audiences comfortable with black people on-stage by creating a false representation of them. White people felt comfortable making fun of these stories because it was a way to undermine the black citizens they painted as evil. Glover brought this piece of history to the beginning of his video to make viewers understand why the dancing is such a vital part of black culture.
The presence of music in itself plays a large factor in how this song presents itself to viewers. Alone, the track is an upbeat rap song mixed with a church choir to give a break from the darker lyrics of Gambino, such as his short commentary on police violence in America, stating “Look at how I’m livin’ now, police be trippin’ now yeah, this is America.” This is lost amidst the expressive nature of Gambino’s production aside from the opening scene where he shoots a captive man in the back of the head. When paired with the video, the song almost tries to obstruct the thoughts of those watching. People end up concentrated on the lyrics before slowly processing what is happening on screen. The music serves as the ‘entertainment’ and keeps audiences grooving despite seeing the chaos. This unsettling manipulation is a reference to the manner in which black entertainers are asked to create captivating art, but they almost never receive the credit they deserve. This is reflected in the closing lyrics of the song, saying “You just a black man in this world, you just a barcode.” There have been multiple examples year in and out that majority-black projects often get snubbed for white storytelling. Beyoncé’s album Lemonade losing the Album of the Year Grammy to Adele’s 25 is a prime example. While viewers should not undermine the work of non-black creators, proper merit is often never awarded to works that otherwise deserve it. Gambino points this issue out through music and dance, as well as depicting the attempts of escaping this cycle in the final running sequence of the video. A mob chases Gambino in an attempt to capture him, likely due to him discovering the true nature of America’s dull situation.
In contrast to the powerful influence of music in the video, many, such as Tre Johnson of Rolling Stone, have questioned how Glover is forcing us to look at issues that are truly unsettling to watch unfold in the real world. Johnson states that the video is “…an upsettingly vivid illustration of the Faustian bargain that black America makes on a regular basis, trading our bodies for our expression and freedom.” While we may have no clue as to what his full-hearted intentions were for this music video, it is not hard to assume that he wants us, the viewers, to have a change of heart and start going after change right now. This narrative is healthy on paper but is hard to apply when so many face discriminations on a daily basis already. Music, like many forms of consumable media, is a direct line to escapism. People occasionally just wish to turn their minds off and listen to the newest music or watch videos of the newest dance trends as a way to get away from the harsh reality we live in. Childish Gambino’s video, whether he wished for it or not, seems critical of this mindset. The sense of urgency seems to clash with the notion that people must always be politically driven. The divide between ideologies of African-Americans seems problematic when they wish to come together rather than grow apart. However, even if the existing gap stands as an obstacle, Gambino’s “This is America” still sends a message about systematic oppression that has kept the conversation going.
Additionally, there is much debate around whether or not Donald Glover is the ‘right black person’ to be at the forefront of this charge against injustice in America. As Travis Andrews of The Washington Post points out, “Many culture consumers, however, have called out the auteur for the past content of his comedy and music, which many claim is misogynistic, homophobic, fetishistic of Asian women and dismissive of rape — among other things.” This stems from Glover’s past actions and words that have painted him as a controversial figure in the media. During his career as a comedian, comedy sketch producer, and rapper, Glover made various jokes about the aforementioned topics that, when looked at in retrospect, are incredibly problematic. In an interview with The Guardian in 2011, Glover even went on record to say, “I think it’s odd that you can’t joke about rape, when people joke about murder all the time. A lot more people are dying than getting raped. I think it’s a comedian’s job to make everything funny. Nothing is off-limits.” This was in response to the critique received for his 2006 comedy sketch “Bro Rape: A Newsline Investigative Report,” which showcases Glover ‘raping’ another male student. While the various personas of Donald Glover have certainly grown since his time working as a comedian, it is hard to ignore the bigotry of an artist even when they are trying to use their present-day platform to speak out against tragedies that affect all American citizens.
Furthermore, there is much discussion on Glover’s personal life due to the ethnicity of his partner, Michelle White. Glover and White’s relationship has largely stayed away from the eyes of the media and is rarely mentioned by either of two despite having two children together. Those who are critical of Glover point out that having a white wife, in one way or another, is a means of using white women as a way to find acceptance from white onlookers while also putting down black women at the same time. There is a belief that marrying white disqualifies black creators from telling stories that are ‘truly black’ at their core, making them less significant than their pure black counterparts. This does not outright make “This is America” redundant to these critics, per se, but it does play a role in how media outlets will treat the video going forward. Other writers have come to defend him from such backlash due to the strong political messages sent by the music video. As Touré, writer for thedailybeast.com, states in his article on Glover’s relationship, “Your spouse’s whiteness doesn’t shield you from racism and white privilege; it doesn’t undercut your blackness like baking soda in cocaine. You don’t get a Get Out of Racism card when you marry white. No matter what you do, you stay black ’til you die.” “This is America” sends a message that cannot be ignored simply because of the creator’s personal life. Similar to countless other forms of art and media, a certain degree of separation between artist and art is needed to evaluate works properly.
Works Cited
Andrews, Travis M. “Some Took Offense at Donald Glover’s Early Work. He Has Evolved, but the Internet Never Forgets.” The Washington Post, WP Company, 15 May 2018,www.washingtonpost.com/news/arts-and-entertainment/wp/2018/05/15/some-took-offense-at-donald-glovers-early-work-he-has-evolved-but-the-internet-never-forgets/?utm_term=.640d9ed99694.
Craven, Julia. “Donald Glover’s ‘This Is America,’ Through The Eyes Of A Jim Crow Historian.” HuffPost, HuffPost, 9 May 2018, www.huffpost.com/entry/donald-glover-this-is-america-jim-crow-history_n_5af31588e4b00a3224efcc40?ncid=engmodushpmg00000004.
Johnson, Tre. “Donald Glover’s ‘This Is America’ Is a Nightmare We Can’t Look Away From.” Rolling Stone, 25 June 2018, www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/donald-glovers-this-is-america-is-a-nightmare-we-cant-afford-to-look-away-from-630177/.
Lopez, German, and Kavya Sukumar. “Mass Shootings since Sandy Hook, in One Map.” Vox.com, Vox, 9 July 2018, www.vox.com/a/mass-shootings-america-sandy-hook-gun-violence.
Mason, Byron. “Childish Gambino’s ‘This Is America’: Why It Matters.” The Prindle Post, 15 May 2018, www.prindlepost.org/2018/05/childish-gambinos-this-is-america-why-it-matters/.
Paige, Rachel. “Donald Glover’s Love Life Is Astonishingly Private, But Here’s What We Know.” Refinery29, 10 Feb. 2019, www.refinery29.com/en-us/2019/02/223622/is-donald-glover-married-wife-girlfriend-michelle-white.
Roberts, Tyah-Amoy. “What Childish Gambino Gets Right — and Wrong — about Youth Culture in ‘This Is America’.” The Washington Post, WP Company, 18 May 2018, www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2018/05/18/what-childish-gambino-gets-right-and-wrong-about-youth-culture-in-this-is-america/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.b89001b8a219.
Touré. “Donald Glover’s White Partner Doesn’t Make Him Any Less Black.” The Daily Beast, The Daily Beast Company, 11 May 2018, www.thedailybeast.com/donald-glovers-white-partner-doesnt-make-him-any-less-black.
